Thornes
by CINNA-mon-PEETA-bread
Summary: After the Revolution, the Districts had nearly been destroyed. With time, each managed to rebuild and the people of Panem started to settle into their new, better lives. When the Hawthornes move back to District 12 after a few years in the Capitol, they shake things up. Post-Mockingjay but Prim survived. M for future lemons and swearing. R&R please! Prim/Rory, Peeta/Katniss & more
1. New Job

**Hey everyone! This is my first fic on this site, I hope you'll all enjoy it! I look forward to getting people's thoughts as the story develops and the plot thickens.**

**Oh and I don't own anything besides the story I'm writing, I don't own the characters (besides the ones I make up) and so on. Thanks! Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>CHAPTER 1 - NEW JOB<strong>

"Rory? Could you do me a favour before you leave, please?" His mother called as he came down the stairs.

Heaving a sigh, the 18 year old changed his course toward the kitchen where he found her putting away some silverware. "Mom, I gotta go. **Please** tell me it's a quick one?" Rory groaned.

Hazelle rolled her eyes and gave him a smile. "I know, I know. I just need you to lift those boxes for me and put them on the counter so I can sort through them." She explained as she gestured towards the boxes and the counter

"Sure thing, Mom." He complied, moving to pick up the first box. They weren't very heavy boxes, one was even full of linens by the feel of it, but Rory understood why she needed help. His mother was in rough shape, despite having lived in the Capitol for the past few years and basically being waited on hand and knee 24/7. The Revolution really took its toll on her already fragile body and although she had always been a fighter, it was almost as if it decided that it was time to succumb to its abuse. It had started about a year and a half after they had moved to the Capitol with Gale and now she could hardly bend over to pick anything up off the ground, no matter how light or small.

"Alright, here you go." He said after lifting up the last - and heaviest - box onto the counter. "Seriously, Mom. We just moved in yesterday, you don't have to unpack everything today, ok?"

Hazelle gave her son a half smile. "Oh hush! Go on now, sweetie, you don't want to be late for your first day of work." She brushed off his concern, not unlike she would do with her eldest son. Rory heaved another sigh, deciding he did not have time to argue and bent down so she could give him a hug and a quick peck on the cheek before he ran out the door.

Today was his first day at his new job in District Twelve and it wasn't in the coal mines as it might have been when he had lived there before the Revolution. In the Capitol, Rory had gotten work with the building crews when he got old enough, despite Gale's insistence that he work with him. His brother had always had an analytical mind whereas Rory was more hands-on. Luckily, Twelve still had some rebuilding to do which had made it easy to find a job before the move.

By mid-afternoon, he was already roofing a new house with two other people. The first was his supervisor; a short, stoop-shouldered, redheaded man of about thirty-four named Dirk. He was nice enough and had a pocket full of stories to keep the day going although Rory had a hard time believing some had actually been true half the time.

His other crew mate was a girl named Serra. She had a strong build, broad shoulders and short brown hair that reached her chin. She was of an average height for a her age - which was only three years his junior - and she was always making remarks about Dirk's stories which made Rory laugh. It was all in good spirits, though, since Dirk was always laughing too.

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><p>Before he knew it, they had finished the roof and were gearing up to head home. Serra lived a few blocks away from his house, he found out, so they walked home together. It was a nice opportunity to get to know each other a little bit better, he supposed. Especially since they would be working together a lot.<p>

"So, you said you moved back to town yesterday?" Serra asked as they made their way home. He nodded and she went on. "Where did you come from?"

"Um, the Capitol, actually... But, we only moved out there _after_ the Revolution." Rory provided, making sure to explain that he was from Twelve _before_. He wasn't oblivious to the hate many people still had against the Capitol, even after these few years since the Revolution. Some old habits died hard, it would seem, and he wasn't going to put himself in a tricky situation with the wrong person because of a misunderstanding.

"Why the Capitol, though? Especially right after the fucking Revolution? Were your parents _mad_?" That was the thing about Serra, she was very crude at times and could be quite sarcastic. It didn't bother Rory much, though.

Rory sighed, pushing a hand through his hair, probably making it a little messy in the process. "My brother got a job out there when it all ended and convinced my mother to move with him." He shrugged. "After a while, my mom started getting homesick so he found us a nice place near where our old house used to be. I was already working in construction over there, so he helped me find a job with you guys... And that's it really." It really wasn't much of a story.

"And your brother's still over there." She concluded, not really asking.

He gave a nod. "Yeah, he's got a good job." _And I don't think he could face this place_, he didn't add.

Their way home took them through the town square which, aside from how new and clean all the shops were, was almost exactly as Rory remembered it. There was the Cartwrights' shoe shop and the tailor's next door, the handmade furniture store, the produce grocer and even the Mellarks' bakery, or what he _assumed_ was still the Mellark's bakery. When he asked Serra about it she paused, looking over at the building before looking back at him and giving a shrug. "Never been in there my whole life, even now that I got some money." She admitted, glancing back again. "Let's go see!" And before he knew what was happening, she had already started jogging away from him.

"N-no. Serra!" Rory sighed in frustration. All he had been looking for was a simple yes or no answer, not to walk into the store and see that it might not be the same way he remembered it. He couldn't remember if he had even seen the Mellarks in District 13 — with the exception of Peeta. What if the Mellarks had not survived the bombing? Rory knew of no one else in Twelve who could really bake, so who could possibly be working the bakery? Unless they had survived, of course. Heaving yet another sigh, he followed her at a bit of a quicker jog. "Would you wait up?" Serra laughed but stopped when she reached the door, waiting for him to make his way up the front steps before she walked in.

Rory wasn't quite sure what he had hoped to find, or who he had expected to see, but as they walked in he found things had hardly changed. The layout was a little different; the counters where trimmed in stainless steal and topped with a cream coloured surface. The walls were a soft orange - not a bad orange, it was actually very welcoming - and every wooden surface was a light chestnut tone. To the right, Rory noticed there was an opening to a whole other room that had never been there before. It was vacant of people but filled with tables, chairs and booths. All the tables had the same cream colour tops as the front counter and were trimmed with metal, the chairs and booths were a dark blue colour and looked very comfortable. The walls were the same orange hue but there was white wainscoting almost halfway up the wall from the floor and a few pictures were hung here and there.

A bell rang as the door closed behind them and Rory could hear footsteps approaching. A sudden urge to run overcame him then; years ago, he and Vick would walk in sometimes to look at the cakes and pastries even though they could not afford them. If they were lucky, Mr. Mellark would walk out from the back room and give them half a cookie each and promise to share a quarter with Gale and Posy when they got home — which didn't always happen. However, if Mrs. Mellark walked out, they knew they were toast (pun not intended), which had always put the boys on edge when they walked into the store. This was a reflex that had obviously not gone away with time.

The door behind the counter swung open and none of the Mellarks emerged. Who did, however, was a skinny girl with light blue eyes, golden hair braided to one side that nearly reached her waist, in a light blue dress with a pink floral pattern and a dark blue apron over top. Rory stared at her, jaw slightly loose, wide-eyed and utterly dumbfounded. She was absolutely _stunning_... "Hi there! How can I—" She started before the bright smile dropped from her face and her eyes went wide. "...Rory?"

His heart started beating again after a few seconds. "Prim?" He answered and her smile started to creep back onto her face.


	2. Primrose

**Hey hey! I'm trying to update weekly, trying to always be one chapter ahead of myself to make sure. I just want to thank a few people right now...  
><strong>**Thanks to Odie12 for being the first person to follow my story (also, first person to do anything so thanks for being my first "fan"). Thanks to Kelmikmag for my first review and first favourite! And thanks to Smeakr for being my second follow. You three rock! Thanks for the support!**

**Quickly, I own nothing from the Hunger Games, so on, so on, here's the new chapter!**

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><p><strong><span>CHAPTER 2 - PRIMROSE<span>**

"After the Revolution, readjusting to life in District 12 had been very difficult. Prior to her return, Prim had spent a few weeks in the Capitol's hospital due to the injuries she had sustained from the bombs that had been dropped in the Capitol. She had barely survived the explosion but they got to her just in time, her doctor had explained. He had also told her of the severity of her injuries; a lot of her skin had been burned, torn or melted away and there had been a lot of blood, a few broken ribs and a broken collar bone. Luckily, the explosion had thrown her back a good distance and her head hit the ground, giving her a mild concussion and causing her to instantly black out. She had felt no pain - or didn't remember any at least - and the entire ordeal was a blur. She had been under heavy sedation for three weeks to allow her body to recover painlessly afterward. Although she was happy for that, Prim wished she could have seen how they had taken care of her; the Capitol's medicine was highly advanced and she had hardly gotten to see its magnitude first hand.

She had examined her body carefully, amazed that she couldn't find a single scratch or scar on herself — not even the scar she had gotten on her left elbow when she was seven from a misplaced pair of scissors. It was amazing.

Rehabilitation took another three weeks; there was a lot the Capitol couldn't fix with their fancy medicine and machinery. Hazelle Hawthorne came by every day to visit and help out. It was nice to have a familiar face around and Prim liked the company, and occasionally her children would come as well.

Mrs Hawthorne had explained that Katniss was alive and well back in District 12 and that Peeta had been sent back only two weeks after. It would have been a month since then. When Prim asked about her mother, Hazelle explained that Mrs. Everdeen had been working in various Districts, providing medical assistance. Currently, she was in Seven but there was no word on when she would return. The news that her mother and her sister weren't there had saddened her a little, perhaps it was selfish of her to think so but it was how she had felt. But the Hawthornes had been there for her, seeing as they now intended on living in the Capitol, which had also saddened her a bit. They had always been like family to the Everdeens, the thought that they would no linger live in Twelve had been hard to process. However, it was nice to spend some time with them while she was there, even Gale had dropped by once or twice.

Her entire recovery had taken about a month and a half but they were finally ready to send her back home. Saying her goodbyes had been difficult, especially knowing that transportation between Districts would not be easy for at least a year. However, Prim took some comfort in knowing that she would be returning to her sister. She traveled by air rather than by train, as she had during the Revolution only a handful of times. They landed in a clearing not far off from the Victors' Village and Katniss, Peeta and Haymitch had been there to great her. It was an emotional reunion to say the least.

Despite being back home, nothing had been the same. The District was trying to clean up the ruins of every house and building destroyed by the bombs, and many people were unaccounted for - either dead, scattered or in other Districts.

For Katniss and Peeta, reintegration into a regular life had been proving to be difficult, and the same would be true for Primrose. The nightmares, the paranoia, the post-traumatic stress, the emotions, the idleness... Eventually they would learn to control and handle these together but it wouldn't be easy.

A few years had passed since then and life in District 12 - as in almost all other Districts - had greatly improved. Peeta and Katniss had helped to design and rebuild the bakery. Prim worked in it with them from time to time when she wasn't at the hospital the town had built, learning from doctors and training to become a proper nurse after she turned 18 in a few weeks. It wasn't as big or as fancy as the ones in the Capitol but it had everything Twelve needed and supplies were much easy to obtain.

On this particular afternoon, she was helping out at the bakery. Peeta was upstairs doing some paper work while she and her sister were cleaning up after a busy day of baking.

Arms deep into a sink full of dishes, Katniss frowned. "Seriously Prim, you need to remember to butter these trays." She gave the dish a few hard scrubs and paused to blow at a stray strand of hair that had fallen into her eyes.

Prim sighed as she passed a rag over the table. "I'm sorry, I thought I had." Before her sister could reply, the bell rang up front. "I got it." She smiled, grateful for the escape. She left the rag and dried her hands on her dark blue apron as she made her way through the door.

"Hi there! How can I-" She stopped dead in her tracks, the words halting in her tongue. Before her stood a boy her age with messy dark brown hair, light grey eyes, a toned, lean build, bronzed olive skin from being in the sun and who had to be at least a foot taller than her. He was undeniably handsome... and couldn't be who she thought he was. Could he?

"...Rory?" She tried, hoping to be right.

The boy stared at her, seemingly as surprised as she was for a moment, before he spoke in a deeper voice than she remembered. "Prim?"

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><p><strong>Thanks everyone! Feel free to follow me on Tumblr under the same name :)<strong>


	3. Rambling

**Hey everyone! Thanks for being so awesome! I will say that I'm sorry my chapters are a little short atm (especially this one) but I will make them longer as we go on (very soon too, i hope!). Also, sorry this is probably not the best either. Shout out to Oha808 for following :) I like to thank you guys personally, since i am starting out, you guys are the reason I know I should keep on going with this story. Thanks!**

**Own nothing, just having fun!**

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><p><strong><span>CHAPTER 3 - RAMBLING<span>**

Prim gave a small laugh of disbelief as she quickly made her way around the counter to meet him in a tight hug. Not only had Rory gotten taller, she noticed he had also gotten a lot stronger. He lifted her off her feet with ease, which admittedly was very easy to do, but she could feel the strength in his arms as he did so. She felt so small in his embrace.

When he finally put her down, Prim could hardly contain her excitement. She had so many questions. Instead of asking them one by one over time, of course, she asked them all at once. "What are you doing here?" She exclaimed, practically bouncing on the spot. "I haven't seen you in years! How's your mom? How's Vick? Posy? Gale? When did you..."

Rory laughed as she asked question after question after question. "Prim..." He started, chuckling as he motioned for her to calm down a little with his hands.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I know! I'm just so excited you're here!" She apologized, finally stopping her bombardment. Her pale blue eyes were bright with excitement and she was beaming from ear to ear. Rory was no different with a broad grin revealing his bright teeth. Now that she really looked at him, she noticed how his chin an jaw had become more defined, how his dark brown hair was in disarray and boarding on being shaggy, although short. His shoulders and chest had broadened quite a bit since they had last seen each other but he was also slim and lean at the same time. His arms were muscular from natural work, she could tell it wasn't from training, and he towered over her by at least a foot if not a little more. Prim remembered his brother Gale just then. Rory resembled him quite a bit, although Gale's face was more square, his shoulders were wider and his neck was thicker. It had been so long, so much had changed...

Primrose brought her attention back to the conversation and asked again, "What are you doing here?" She could hardly believe that he was truly standing in front of her, it felt like a dream. But the strength and warmth of his hug was not her imagination. Nor was his smell; he had a kind of woodsy aroma to him, mixed in with some kind of fresh-smelling soap or detergent, topped off with a little bit of sweat. It was actually a pretty pleasant smell, she found, and 100% not her imagination.

"I, um, we were walking home from work and I wanted to see some old faces, I guess." He answered, giving a shrug and ran a hand through his already messy hair nervously.

We? Prim's brows pulled together for a moment before she looked at the girl standing to his left. "Oh! Oh, I'm so sorry!" Her face burned up in a deep red blush, utterly embarrassed. "I just got... caught up... I-I didn't... I'm so... Anyways, hi! It's nice to meet you! I'm Prim!" She stuttered before extending her hand out to her, feeling like a total idiot.

The girl laughed before shaking her hand. "Serra, nice to meet you too." Serra replied. She was pretty, Prim noticed; her strong build was sort of something to be desired in Twelve. Since the District had always been in such rough shape and very few could afford food, many people were nothing more than skin and bones with little muscle mass at all. A hardier, sturdy girl had always been something appealing before and Serra wore it very well. Her short brown hair barely passed her chin and was light and wavy. She had a lovely smile, although a little crooked, a heart-shaped face and lightly tanned skin.

An uneasy, awkward feeling lingered in the room after they let go of each other's hands. All three of them stood in silence, unsure of what to say next Perhaps she should ask Serra about herself, Prim thought, but how could she go about it when she didn't even know who this girl was? How did she know Rory? Perhaps that would have been a good question to ask. Was she his neighbour? His coworker? His friend? His girlfriend, even?

Before things could get more uncomfortable, Serra cleared her throat to speak. "Well, I can see that you two have a lot of catching up to do. I'm just gonna head out." She gestured towards the door with her thumbs simultaneously as she backed way towards it. Rory and Prim both tried to ask her to stay but she shut them down. "You two have a good one. Rory, see you tomorrow." And with that, Serra left the bakery.

Prim gnawed on her bottom lip, feeling bad about Serra feeling the need to leave. However, as she looked back at Rory, Serra was nearly completely forgotten. "Wanna go sit down in the Dinning Room?" She asked, gesturing towards the adjoining room.

"Yeah, sure." He gave a small laugh, letting go off his nerves. Prim smiled and lead the way.


End file.
